japanese

The Japan Habba is an annual event in Bangalore that aims to promote Indo-Japanese relations and help increase people’s knowledge about Japanese culture and art. I went for the event about two years ago, but missed last years edition so I knew I had to make it this time. I got there early but the new venue was already buzzing with activity. And a lot of Japanese people rocking some serious sneakers. I think seeing four pairs of New Balances and Asics walk away from me made the visit worthwhile. There was a lot of nice anime art on sale and I snapped up a very nice Cardcaptor Sakura poster. There were some Ningyo dolls, chopsticks and some very sharp knives on sale too. In addition to the stalls selling Japanese goods, a lot of schools and universities had stalls set up, including Tokyo University. There was a Shodo station where you could register to take a shot at calligraphy and draw a character with a brush. I also caught some nice martial arts/dance performances by a group of extremely impressive acrobatic kids. What disappointed me however, was the lack of food stalls. I was very hungry and all there was to eat was either an overpriced Bento box or a lot of Indian food. Well, maybe next year.